Garcetti announces he's running for mayor *

City Council President Eric Garcetti tossed his name in the crowded ring for 2013 this morning. "I'm running for Mayor to get L.A. and our economy back on track," he said. "I'll bring focused leadership based on experience, practical know-how, and a willingness to embrace innovation." His release notes:

A fourth-generation Angeleno, Garcetti was born at Good Samaritan Hospital and was raised in the San Fernando Valley. Both sides of his family settled in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights neighborhood, on one side after escaping the violence of the Mexican revolution, on the other amidst the persecution of Jews within the Russian empire.

Garcetti studied urban planning and political science at Columbia University, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in International Relations. He also studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and the London School of Economics and was a Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellow. He taught public policy, diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College and the University of Southern California before being elected to the City Council.